Is the Urban Challenge Too Corporate?

One of the interesting things that struck me as I was looking at the photos and videos from the National Qualifying Event is how many sponsor stickers there are on the vehicles. From Google to Red Bull, the Urban Challenge seems to be heading for a timespot on ESPN2, or at least TLC. Clearly, the marketers at the sponsor companies felt that the lead competitors, like CMU and Stanford, would be garnering their fair share of eyeballs. This AP article covers the commercialization of the Grand Challenge events, with the head of DARPA intimating that the high degree of sponsor interest may mean that it’s time for the organization to move on to less-well-funded research priorities.